To heal the scars you cannot see
by Red Shoe Kitty
Summary: When Ianto is taken by intergalactic sex slave traders, Jack has to do everything he can to save him.
1. Chapter 1

When they took him, it was from the one place in the universe that he felt the safest. One moment he had been peacefully asleep locked in the security of Jack Harkness' arms and the next, his bedroom was full of tall humanoids, two of whom dragged him from the bed, holding him tightly whilst he struggled screaming Jack's name. Jack surged from the bed in a magnificent naked fury, snapped the neck of one of the intruders and crushed the chest of another before being leapt upon by three others, and pulled swearing, and belligerent into a corner of the room.

'Jack' yelled Ianto in terror, as one of his captors wrapped and arm around his chest and began to operate some form of transportation device

'Ianto,' Jack was still fighting to reach his lover, 'I'll find you. I love y…' He slumped to the ground as one of the intruders, losing patience, shot him in the head.

Then bright orange light flared and everything went black.

* * *

When Ianto regained consciousness it was to find that he was securely strapped to some kind of padded examination couch surround by five tall grey skinned individuals who were staring down at him with purple lidless eyes. Automatically, Ianto struggled, testing the strength of the webbing holding him down. One of the grey men spoke to him,

'Resistance is futile'

Ianto couldn't held it, he burst out laughing, 'I didn't know aliens really said that' he gasped.

The aliens regarded him disapprovingly, 'you are ours now' one of them said.

'I don't belong to anyone' snarled Ianto, 'I am a free citizen of planet Earth and my own man'

The thin lipped mouth of the alien seemed to be trying to form a smile, 'no longer' he said, 'You belong to the Ta'qoth now; you are ours to do with as we will.'

Ianto's struggles became more frantic, 'what do you want from me' he demanded desperately, 'Do you think I'm going to tell you anything? Do you expect me to talk?'

A hissing sound rippled through the grey aliens, _like laughter_ thought Ianto

'One we are done with you' said the leader, 'we do not expect you ever to speak again.' Ianto's gut clenched with fear as his kidnapper continued, 'we will begin with the modifications before we move on to the training.' He looked as Ianto with something like compassion and placed a long bony finger on his forehead, 'we are not a cruel people. We do not wish you to suffer unnecessarily.'

Ianto's vision was beginning to blur, 'wha...what are you doing to me?' he slurred, 'please, no...' but darkness took him one more.

* * *

Jack revived with his usual pained gasp, for a brief disorientated second he thought he could feel Ianto's arms around him, holding him calming him, then reality rushed in and Jack became aware that he was slumped in the corner of Ianto's bedroom and that he had two corpses for company. Grimacing slightly, being shot in the head always gave him a migraine, he staggered to his feet. He had no idea how long he had been dead, didn't even know what time it had been when the attack had happened. He bent to examine the body of the alien whose neck he had broken. It was cooling but not stiff, about 15 minutes dead Jack estimated. He turned the body over to get a better view of the features, to see if it was a species with which he was familiar.

'Oh dear sweet goddess' whispered Jack as he took in the grey skin and purple eyes, now glazed in death, ' Ta'qoth' Unfastening his wrist strap Jack scanned the room and groaned in despair 'Kappa tachyon radiation' He knew who had taken Ianto and why. Swearing in Welsh Jack stumbled to the bedside table, snatching up his phone he dialled with shaking fingers

'Tosh?' the words were spilling from his mouth almost as soon as Tosh's sleepy 'hello' came softly though the handset, 'I need you at the Hub, now. Quick as you can Tosh.' He thanked every deity in the universe for Tosh; there were no pointless questions, no exclamations about the lateness of the hour.

'On my way, Jack'

* * *

It was less than 10 minutes later that Jack met Tosh at the entrance to the tourist office. She took in his red eyes at a glance and knew something bad had happened

'Jack?'

He was rushing her down into the hub, speaking as fast as he was walking. They took him Tosh, the Ta'qoth, we only have about 90 minutes before the Kappa tachyon radiation fades , we need to find them, you need to find them, please Tosh, please.'

Tosh seated herself at her work station and powered up her computer, 'Ok scanning for Kappa radiation, talk to me Jack' from behind her came something suspiciously like a sob, but when Jack spoke he voice was steady and calm.

'The Ta'qoth are renowned throughout the seven galaxies as the purveyors of the finest sex slaves. A Ta'qoth sex slave is compliant, versatile and completely silent. That's their big selling point, they don't do anything to physically render them mute, it's all part of their training. They steal beautiful men and women; lock them in a time sphere for as long as it takes to break them. The Ta'qoth pride themselves on the kindness with which they train their slaves, they modify them to order and that pushes the price sky high. Planets have been bankrupted for the sake of owning a Ta'qoth sex slave...' he trailed off

Tosh risked a glance and had to stifle a gasp, she had never seen Jack look so broken, so helpless, 'and these Ta'qoth have Ianto?' she asked, appalled

Jack nodded, 'Their transport device leaves a kappa tachyon signature but it decays really fast. The only hope of finding where and when they have taken him is to trace the source of the relay signal before it fades. Please, Tosh, I can't lose him, can't leave him to that life'

Tosh's clever finger were flying over the key board, 'Relax Jack, I think...almost...yes!' she let out a small yelp of triumph, 'got them! Sending the coordinates to your wrist strap now.' She found herself pulled out of her seat and enfolded into Jack's intoxicating embrace.

'Tosh, you are a genius' smiled Jack as he planted an almost chaste kiss on her lips, laughing at her subsequent blush.

'Jack' Tosh hated to destroy his optimism, 'The coordinates are out beyond Luyten 726-8, that's over 8 light years away, plus, you talked about a time sphere, I don't know how to factor in the time element. We know where he is but not when. How on earth do we get to him?'

Jack was already on his phone, 'Doctor? I need you.' His voice broke slightly, 'Doc? It's really important, please come quick' He had barely returned the phone to his pocket when the familiar noise of the Tardis dematerialising filled the Hub causing grumbling squawks to be heard from Myfanwy's aerie. The door of the Tardis opened and a tall thin figure in a brown suit charged into the Hub.

'Jack? What's so important?' he looked around with a big smile on his face, 'seems fairly quiet here, if you just wanted me to come visit, you only had to say you know...'

Jack wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand, 'Ianto has been taken by the Ta'qoth'

The smile slid away from The Doctor's face, 'Have you...'

'Tracked the Kappa Tachyon radiation? Yes' said Tosh

The Doctor bestowed a bewitching smile on her, 'and who are you, you clever thing?'

'Toshiko Sato, people call me Tosh'

The Doctor placed a gallant kiss on her hand, 'Well, Ms people-call-me-Tosh, I hope we can have a long chat about exactly how you managed that at some point.' Jack cleared his throat in a pointed manner and The Doctor had the grace to blush, 'I think you must have rubbed off on me Jack' Jack raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to retort but The Doctor held up a restraining hand, 'no, Jack, don't you dare.' The two men shared a reminiscent smile. 'Now then,' The Doctor was suddenly more business like, ' I take it you have the coordinates, that Ms Sato so cleverly discovered?' Jack held up his wrist, The Doctor grinned, 'Then what are we waiting for?'

Jack turned to follow The Doctor, but paused and turned back to Tosh, 'We don't know what state he's going to be in...' he began

Tosh gave him a reassuring smile, 'I'll call Owen in and brief him, go on Jack, leave it all to me, just bring him back OK?'

'Thanks Tosh, oh and could you...'

'Keep Gwen away? Sure. Whatever state he's in I doubt Ianto will want her smothering him with her well meant concern'

Jack gave a short nod, a watery smile and followed The Doctor into the Tardis.


	2. Chapter 2

He had no idea how long he had been a prisoner. They had sedated him so many times he had lost all sense of time. He could have been there hours, days or months. At one point he had tried to mark the passage of time by keeping a record in his head of how often he had been raped but the drugs he was forced to take had made his memory fuzzy. Now he lay on the large soft bed in his cell. The room was warm and light and the mattress soft although he was under no illusion that it was for his comfort. He knew it was for the benefit of the dominants he had to service, but in the dark corner of his mind where his tried to preserve some sense of who he was, he allowed a small spasm of gratitude.

The door of the cell opened and his mind slipped into the blankness of his training. He automatically assumed the position; on his knees, head down in the pillow, hands holding tightly onto the bars of the bed head. He could feel lubricant being released into his anal cavity as a result of one of the modifications that the Ta'qoth had made to his body. He was grateful for this as the alien thrust into him with no preparation or warning, although he knew with certainty it was not his place to expect either. He made no sound; that was a lesson he had learned early and well. He could feel the dominant who was mounting him fumble for his erection and fasten a vicious cock ring in place. It had six sharp spikes on the interior which sank into his penis, drawing blood. The Ta'qoth extended its secondary appendage, a prehensile feeding tube, situated behind its penis. Ianto felt it snake between his legs and fasten over the head of his cock pulling it down and back, allowing the six thin rivulets of blood to flow down to the head to be lapped up with his sperm.

He closed his eyes, swallowed the pain and struggled to remain silent. He to imagine himself somewhere else but he could not recall ever being anywhere else. He tried to remember who he was, what his name was, if he had even had a name but his mind remained blank. So instead he concentrated on his talisman word, the one word he had kept in his head left over from whatever life he had before this, he had repeated the word so often it now had lost all meaning but still it comforted him at times like this; _Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack..._

* * *

Jack was pacing the control room of the Tardis like a caged beast as the sound of dematerialisation sounded

'Jack, please calm down' begged The Doctor, 'we'll get him back, don't worry'

Jack threw him a dark look. 'They work in teams of eight,' he mused aloud, ' seven turned up to snatch Ianto so one must have stayed on the ship to coordinate. I killed two of them' Jack ignored the flash of anger that crossed the doctor's face,' So, I'm looking at taking out six, that's do-able. I'll go in and get Ianto, Doc. You stay here and be ready to get us away the moment I come through the doors'

'Jack,' The Doctor looked sombre, 'I'm not letting you go out there armed'

What? Doctor they have Ianto, gods alone know what they have done to him. The time for polite chatting is over'

'No, Jack. There is always another way. Either you give me your gun or I don't open these doors'

For a moment it looked as if Jack would physically attack The Doctor as he moved quickly and aggressively into the slighter man's space. For a long second they looked into each other's eyes until Jack flashed a charming grin, unholstered his Webley and offered it to The Doctor, 'You're the boss' he said as he turned on his heel and head to the doors.

'Be careful, Jack' called The Doctor

'Just be ready to get us out of here' Jack disappeared around a corner.

Once round the corner and out of sight of the Tardis Jack paused. With a wolfish grin he reached down and pulled a large knife out of his boot, 'Well, whaddya know Doc' he sniggered, 'there **IS** always another way'

* * *

Moving silently Jack moved down the corridor, the layout of the ship looked vaguely familiar to him _Corona class starshuttle_ he thought _limited light speed technology; they must be expecting to rendezvous with a larger starship for the slave auction_. He was pulled out of his reverie as a Ta'qoth came round the corner and froze in shock. In one fluid movement Jack grabbed the alien spun it round and punctured the ven'kaat sac just under the left ear. Jack knew that without the regulating enzyme that the sac produced the Ta'qoth would die in agony in around 5 minutes. He pinned the wounded Ta'qoth against the wall

'Training suite' he snarled, 'and I'll finish you quickly'

The Ta'qoth gestured weakly down the corridor 'end of this section' it gasped, in a pain filled whisper

Jack smiled, grimly, 'thanks buddy' he said and slit the aliens throat, lowering the body gently to the floor 'One down, five to go'

* * *

He lay curled in a foetal position, trying to regain his equilibrium. The dominant he was servicing had left in a hurry as an alarm had sounded throughout the ship. He had no curiosity, no concern as to what was going on. All he had to do, he knew, was stay where he was. Sooner or later someone would come for him. Sure enough the door burst open, Ianto immediately assumed the position but something was different. Apart from the fact that he had never seen this particular dominant before the man before him was releasing the most amazing scent, he was dragged from the bed into a warm embrace. Automatically he fell to his knees, reaching for the man's zip, confused when he was pulled to his feet.

'Come with me' said the new dominant pulling him towards the door of the cell. Ianto knew this must be another test; he was never to leave the cell. The beautiful smelling man seemed to understand, he fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, 'It's OK' he reassured Ianto, ' I'm your new owner, look.' With a shaking hands Ianto took the sheet of paper the man held out, it was a transfer of ownership, made out to a Captain Harkness; this man was to be his prime dominant from now on. Jack silently congratulated himself on having the foresight to pick up the psychic paper from the Tardis console, he was sure the Tardis herself had materialised it there and he made a mental note to thank her later.

Ianto looked at his new owner, the man smiled, he had the most bewitching blue eyes, and held out his hand, 'C'mon Yan,' he hesitated, 'Can I call you Yan?' Ianto had no idea what he meant but he gave a tiny smile and a small nod and was rewarded by a soft kiss on the forehead. 'C'mon then Yan, we need to get out of here. Don't be scared by anything you see – you are with me now and you are safe, OK?' Although it was against his training, Ianto gave another small nod. He didn't think that this man would be unkind to him and something in him was telling him to trust this beguiling blue eyed stranger.

Although Ianto was aware that his memory was scrambled by the training he undergone with the Ta'qoth he knew he would never forget the journey through the ship to safety. Bodies of past dominants lay in corridors, surrounded by vomit and vile smelling lilac liquid that was oozing from a neck wound. Contorted in agony, it was plain they had not died easily. The man who was holding his hand so tightly swept past them without a second glance but Ianto began to shake. His new dominant stopped suddenly and pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly 'It's OK, Yan. We are nearly out of here. I just need to do this...' He pressed some buttons on the strap on his wrist '...and we are good to go'

* * *

Jack stumbled thought the doors of the Tardis, carrying an unconscious Ianto. The young man had collapsed, emotionally overwhelmed some 50 meters from the Tardis and Jack had swept him into his arms. Jack gently lowered the young man to the floor, and looked up at The Doctor

'Self-destruct initiated' he gasped, 'get us out of here'

'What?' demanded The Doctor, furiously 'I told you no violence, Jack. Stop this, Stop it now!'

'Can't' said Jack, flatly, 'all of the Ta'qoth are dead, I have downloaded all their files and records, and destroyed the computer central processor. This ship is gonna blow'

The Doctor crossed his arms and frowned.

'Doc, it's too late for all of them, it's not too late for us. GET. US. OUT. OF. HERE'

The Doctor moved to the controls and Jack heaved a huge sigh of relief as he felt them slide into the vortex. He lowered himself to the floor of the control room and pulled Ianto into his arms, tenderly stroking his face. He looked up to see The Doctor looming over them both, a look of absolute fury on his face.

'Jack, I am so angry with you, you totally disregarded my instructions to you. You went out there with the deliberate intention to murder.'

Jack pulled Ianto closer to him and stared up defiantly, 'I don't care'

The Doctor was just getting into his stride, 'Violence solves nothing, Jack. There is always another way, you should try talking sometimes you know, you might just find that...wait...what?'

Jack settled himself more comfortably against the Tardis console, 'I don't care' he repeated, 'for a hundred and fifty years or more I have waited for your approval, trying to be the man I thought you would want me to be but this man...this man here...he loves me for who I am now. He sees the good and the bad in me and it doesn't bother him, he loves me anyway. So I don't care what you think about me anymore, the only person whose opinion I care about is Ianto. Go on, yell and scream and posture all you like, your disapproval does not bother me one tiny bit. I don't give a damn what you think about me. Getting this man home safe and returning him to full health is all I care about.'

The Doctor stood stunned, his mouth opening and closing in a fish like fashion. Jack gave him a cheeky grin, 'Back to Cardiff, please' he said, 'quick as you can' and returned his full attention to the young man cradled in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

The brief trip back to Wales was carried out in total silence. As the Tardis dematerialised The Doctor cleared his throat.

'I thought you would want time to prepare the team, so I'll drop you by the invisible lift. Is that OK?'

Jack looked up from where he had been sitting stroking Ianto's face and murmuring reassuring nonsense to him.

'Thank you'

The Doctor looked uncomfortable, ' Jack, I, I'm sorry…'

Jack stood up and pulled Ianto close to his side, 'doesn't matter' he said, 'he is the most important person to me now, so approve or disapprove of me Doc. It doesn't matter to me any more'

The Doctor opened the Tardis doors, 'I'm still your friend, though, Jack. I'll still come to help if you need me, any time, OK?'.

Jack nodded, 'Good to know, thank you Doctor' he slid his hand along the edge of the console _thank you too, sweetheart_ he thought, feeling an answering trill from the Tardis herself.

* * *

Jack stood on the invisible lift, holding Ianto firmly to his side. He activated his comms, 'Tosh?'

'Jack, did you get him?'

Jack smiled broadly as he noticed the CCTV cameras swivelling, one by one, in their direction, 'Yeah got him but...Tosh, he's very confused and vulnerable. I know how much he means to you but it's for the best for now that you don't touch him and keep your interactions with him short and to the point, OK'

Tosh sounded worried, 'OK, Jack. Owen is here and... so is Gwen' she lowered her voice, 'Sorry Jack, I did my best but she overheard me talking to Own and we can't get rid of her'

Jack sighed, 'Don't worry Tosh; we'll just have to do our best to restrain her.' He turned to the young man standing beside him, shaking and looking around with wide eyes. 'Ianto, Yan, look at me please.' Ianto's eyes snapped back to Jack's face, 'We are going to go down into the Hub on this lift. There are people down there who know you and love you. No-one is going to hurt you and no-one is going to use you so I don't want you to be scared, alright?' Ianto looked at Jack and gave his now customary hesitant smile. Jack gave him a kiss, 'that's my beautiful boy'

* * *

As they descended on the lift Jack could see Owen hovering in the doorway of the medical bay, he caught Jack's eye and gave him a small nod, he was set up and ready to help. Tosh was pretending to be busy at her work station although her eyes flicked upwards toward the two men from time to time, but Gwen...

No sooner had they stepped off the lift when Gwen hurtled out of the kitchen 'IANTO! Sweetheart, we were all so worried' and she pulled Ianto into her arms. Ianto froze for a second then his training kicked in, a blank expression settled over his face and he pressed himself against her and slid a hand inside her jeans. With an outraged scream, Gwen slapped Ianto across his face with enough force to leave a hand print on his pale skin, she shoved him, hard, causing him to stumble backwards and crack his head on the corner of one of the work stations and slump to the floor. Jack was at his side in an instant, 'GWEN!' he yelled furiously, 'back off, NOW! Owen get over here' He turned to look at Ianto who was trying to scramble to his feet, Jack tenderly helped him up, 'Owen he's bleeding'

Relax Jack, scalp wounds always bleed like stink' Owen was standing a couple of feet away from Ianto, he looked into the confused young man's face, 'Hello Ianto, mate, I'm Doctor Owen Harper. Is it OK if I take a look at that bump?'

Ianto looked at Jack, who smiled encouragingly and nodded. Ianto looked at Owen and nodded in turn. Jack smiled, 'Ok Yan, you go with Dr. Harper and I'll be with you in a minute or two' As Ianto obediently followed Owen down into the medical bay, Jack turned on Gwen, grasped her upper arm in a powerful and painful grip and dragged her, protesting, towards his office.

He opened the door and almost threw Gwen inside; before she could even open her mouth Jack let her have it,

'What the fuck did you think you were doing you stupid bitch? I told Tosh, and I know she told you, exactly how confused and disorientated Ianto is. She told you not to touch him but you just had to believe that you knew better than all of us didn't you? I've worked with the survivors of Ta'qoth training cells before, Tosh, she knows how captivity can affect a person and Owen has treated rape victims many times but you…oh you know more than all of us put together don't you?'

Gwen interrupted, 'Jack he tried to rape me! He had his hands in my pants and his cock was fucking hard! I had to protect myself, because you sure as hell weren't about to protect me were you?'

'You were never in any danger from Ianto' snarled Jack, 'You are now because I am _**thisclose**_ to killing you myself. Get out and don't come back until I contact you to say you can.'

Gwen was horrified, 'what?'

Jack turned on his heel, 'you heard me. Get out. Don't come back. I have more important things to worry about at the moment.'

* * *

Jack was heading to the medical bay when Owen and Tosh appeared.

'Owen, is he OK?' Jack was almost hyperventilating in his concern

'He's fine, Jack. He's just having a little sleep'

'You sedated him? Why?'

'Not here Jack, let's go up to the boardroom and Tosh and I can tell you what we have so far.

Once in the boardroom they sat, no-one mentioned coffee, somehow it didn't seem right. Jack took a deep breath and looked at Owen, 'So?'

Owen looked at Jack, there seemed to be sympathy in his gaze. 'I had to sedate him Jack because he kept trying to undress me. First Gwen and then me, want to tell us what that is all about?'

'What did you say to him Owen, exactly?'

Owen frowned, 'umm, something like - OK Teaboy, let's have you up on the bed'

Jack sighed, 'The Ta'qoth are renowned throughout the universe as the purveyors and trainers of the finest sex slaves. Their training is comprehensive and the slave are designed to be alert for any potential sexual order from dominants'

'Dominants?' queried Tosh

'People who own them or may want to use them. Anything you say to Ianto, not matter how innocuous it may seem to you, if there is the slightest hint of sexuality in it he will interpret it as an order and his training will dictate his response , you saw how he responded to Gwen'

Owen looked slightly embarrassed, 'so," let's have you up on the bed"?'

Jack nodded sadly.

Owen took a breath, 'I scanned him. Mentally, these bastards have done a right number on him. This "training" seems more like brain washing. There is no reason for him not to speak but whatever they did to his mind means he's mute because that's what he believes he has to be.'

Jack frowned, something was tugging at his memory; 'Are there any marks on him?' he asked Owen, 'deliberate scars or burns, something like that?'

'Yeah' Own shifted uncomfortably, 'There are three long acid burns on the inside of his right thigh'

Jack nodded, he remembered now, 'it's part of the training' he said, 'The slaves are told they are not allowed to talk ever again, not a sound. They are told they have a number of 'indulgences', how many varies from slave to slave. Each time they speak or make a noise, even if it's when being tortured, they are scarred with the acid venom of the gareet shikaar, a toxic reptile from the Ta'qoth home world. It's excruciatingly painful. The slaves are told that if they exceed the number of indulgences allotted to them the venom will be used to burn out their vocal cords.'

Owen swore and Tosh was crying softly

'There's more, Jack' said Owen apologetically, 'They have made changes to his body. I have to say it's the most amazing bio-engineering job I've ever seen. He has increased nerve supply to all erogenous zones and the blood supply to his penis has been significantly enhanced, his stamina appears to have been increased; oh, and you'll love this Jack, he is now self lubricating' Owen looked up, Jack looked devastated, 'sorry, sorry' said Owen hastily, 'that was insensitive.'

'Yes' said Jack quietly, 'it was'

'I am sorry, Captain' responded Owen, he sat silently for a moment, then continued 'what I don't understand is how they managed to do all this in the time they had him. He was gone, what, 36 hours, max'

Tosh raised her head, 'I haven't had much time to look at the data Jack brought back with him, ' she said, ' but I can tell you this, they had him for 9 months'

'Shit' whispered Owen

'Yeah'

'Anything else to add, Owen?' Jack sounded immeasurably weary and sad.

Owen looked at Tosh; neither of them was sure how Jack would respond to what Owen had to say next. Tosh gave Owen a small supportive smile and he forced himself to make eye contact with Jack, 'I can't speak for his mental state' he said carefully, 'but physically he is in incredible shape. There is no sign now that he has ever broken his ribs and he's done that at least twice since I have been his doctor, there was some minor scar tissue on his lungs from a childhood illness – that's disappeared and the callus growth on his leg from when he broke it as a kid is completely gone. Even the forensic evidence from...' he stopped abruptly

'He told me about his childhood' said Jack harshly

Owen nodded, 'well, all that evidence is gone. The scalp wound Gwen gave him had healed before I got him into the med bay. They have significant accelerated his healing processes, makes sense I suppose if he was being designed for use by a dominant who liked to treat 'em rough...'

'Owen' Tosh expostulated softly

Owen looked shamefaced, 'sorry, but Jack it's more than that. They have strengthened and lengthened the telomeres of his DNA.'

'Meaning?'

Telomeres are thought to control the ageing process. They shorten over an individual's life span and shorter telomeres result in poorer health and ageing. If his telomeres stay strong and long, Ianto's life expectancy could now be in the region of hundreds maybe even thousands of years


	4. Chapter 4

Jack sat at the side of the bed in the medical bay watching Ianto sleep. Gently he ran his fingers through the younger mans hair, he was trying to assimilate what Owen had just told him_. Ianto's life expectancy could now be in the region of hundreds maybe even thousands of years, I could have him with me forever_ he thought, and even though he was almost insane with worry about Ianto the thought of having him by his side for centuries made a smile crawl across his face. Ianto began to thrash around in his sleep, his mouth opened in a silent scream. _Gods he won't even make a sound in his sleep_, thought Jack. He hesitated for less than a second, then stripped himself down to his undershirt and boxers; moving carefully he slid next to Ianto and pulled him into his arms. Ianto curled himself around Jack burying his face in Jack's neck and relaxing back into sleep.

* * *

They were still wrapped around each other three hours later when Owen came down to check on his patient. Owen stood in the doorway looking at the two men, trying to work out why the sight of them entangled together was giving him a lump in his throat. Tosh came up behind him,

'How's Ianto?' she said softly

'I think he's got everything he needs' said Owen as Ianto shifted in his sleep and Jack automatically moved to keep close to him.

Tosh put her arm around Owen's waist, 'Come on' she said, 'I think you need a drink.' To her surprise and delight Owen leant into her embrace.

'Yeah, I think I do'

* * *

Gradually Ianto became aware of his surroundings; He was naked and wrapped tightly around his new owner. His training told him that such familiarity was forbidden to him and his whole body flinched with fear. He tried to move away without waking his dominant – fearful of the punishment that would undoubtedly be meted out to him but found himself held tightly in place. Two bright blue eyes stared into his own and two soft lips pressed against his mouth.

'Hi' said Jack softly, 'feeling better?' Ianto froze; Jack ran his fingers over Ianto's face, 'Yan? You OK? A direct question, it was permissible to respond so, cautiously, Ianto nodded. A soft smile lit up Jack's face briefly, 'yeah?' Ianto wanted to put that smile on Jack's face again so he gave a small half smile of his own, nodded more emphatically and slid his fingers under Jack's tee-shirt only to find his wrist seized in a strong grip.

'Ianto we need to talk, go get a shower and get dressed then report to me in my office.'

Carefully Ianto removed his hand from Jack's clothing, a small sliver of fear running through him that this beautiful and kind man didn't want him, he was calling him into his office to tell him he was going to be sold on. Head lowered, he swung one of his legs over the edge of the bed to be stopped by Jack's large warm hand on his thigh.

'Wait, Ianto' Jack knew what Ianto was thinking and cursed himself for his insensitivity. He caressed Ianto's soft skin and gently stroked the three angry red scars on his inner thigh, 'How many indulgences did they give you? Clearly more than three; so how many, four, five?' Ianto ducked his head and held up four fingers, the gentle stroking faltered then continued, 'Oh Yan.' Jack's voice was heavy with sorrow, 'Listen to me, No-one will ever, EVER, hurt you again. Do you understand me? There is nothing you can do, or not do, that will result in punishment of any kind. I need you to believe me on this Ianto, I swear by all I hold dear and sacred that I will love you and protect you for as long as you will let me. I promise I will not send you away or keep you with me against your will.'

Jack wriggled off the bed and knelt on the floor in front of Ianto; he cupped his hand under Ianto's chin and raised his head, sliding his thumb over Ianto's cheek to wipe away a treacherous tear that Ianto had been unable to restrain. 'You do believe me Ianto, don't you?' Ianto looked into Jack's earnest face, despite all of his training screaming at him that eye contact with a dominant was forbidden and nodded There was that smile again, it made Ianto feel warm inside.

Jack cupped Ianto's face gently with his hands, _such large comforting hands_ Ianto thought, _so different from the others_. He experienced a small jolt of shock as he realised that he was allowing himself to think about his master in this way, this was also forbidden by his training but somehow Ianto believed this man when he promised not to hurt him. His master was speaking and Ianto forced himself to concentrate.

'I've worked with survivors of the Ta'qoth before' the beautiful man was saying, 'I expect you are struggling with all this. We need to make this real and we need to start as we mean to go on so listen to me carefully, my name is Jack' Ianto could not suppress his start of surprise, Jack? His talisman word was this man's name? Jack noticed and silently rejoiced that Ianto had managed to keep some kind of link to his previous life whilst in the hands of the Ta'qoth. He continued, 'I am not your master, I am not your owner, I am not your dominant. I am you friend and your partner and your lover, and...' Jack pulled Ianto into a hug, 'I love you, Ianto. I haven't told you that often enough but I'll tell you all the time now, I swear'.

Ianto put his arms around Jack, pulled him close and kissed him passionately before gently pushing him away and wandering off in the direction of the showers leaving a stunned and delighted Jack Harkness behind.

* * *

Yawning and scratching, Jack wandered up into the main body of the hub only to find Owen and Tosh sharing a couple of shop bought coffees on the old ratty sofa.

'Jack!' Tosh held out a coffee which Jack took gratefully

'How's the tea boy' asked Owen

'I think he is going to be OK' grinned Jack, 'He's already breaking his training. He's just kissed me'

'Can't blame him for that' muttered Tosh slightly more loudly than she intended and then blushed hard.

Jack raised an eyebrow and cast a flirtatious in her direction before continuing, 'he shouldn't be able to initiate physical contact without a direct order form his dominant but he hugged me and kissed me...' Jack trailed off and a dopey and slightly glazed look settled over his face.

Yeah, charming' snarked Owen, 'Jack, I've been on to an old university friend of mine, Stephanie Cornell, she's trained as a psychiatrist as well as a surgeon. She works with the survivors of torture, runs a kind of retreat on Anglesey.' Jack frowned but Owen didn't give him a chance to speak, 'I trust her, Jack and I've spoken to her about Ianto only in the broadest terms. She has agreed to act as a consultant on the case; she's drawn up a sort treatment plan and will be happy to help me if I get out of my depth. For the moment, Steph says keeping him in an environment that he is familiar with is probably the best idea, let him set the pace in terms of what he is prepared to allow. He clearly trusts Jack and is not too uncomfortable around Tosh or me so we just behave as usual for time being, but we watch what we say, OK'

Jack and Tosh nodded, then Tosh asked, hesitantly 'what do we do about Gwen?'

Jack looked thunderous, 'I don't want her near him' he snarled

Owen chipped in, 'it's probably best to keep her away for at least two weeks, give Teaboy time to re-acclimatise around here a bit. I'll do some more tests on him today and try and get a baseline feel for his psychological state, a bit tricky with someone who is mute but Steph has sent me some stuff. If I can get a baseline I can check him regularly and we can decided when he is mentally strong enough to cope with Gwen Cooper'

'Guys' Tosh's voice was very quiet, 'we have company.'

Owen and Jack looked over to where Ianto had emerged from the shower room wearing a pair of loose fit jeans and a long sleeved tee-shirt and looking ridiculous young and lost. Jack bounded across to him and slipped an arm around his waist, 'OK, beautiful?'

Ianto ducked his head in a self-deprecating way and nodded

'Oi, teaboy!' Owen's voice rang across the Hub, 'You up to making coffee?'

Ianto looked at Jack, rolled his eyes and made his way without hesitation to the kitchen

Across the Hub Jack's eyes met Owen's in silent gratitude


	5. Chapter 5

Owen and Ianto were sitting companionably in a quiet coffee shop on the quay; Owen had insisted that he talk to Ianto in a place away from the Hub and without Jack present. Owen put a coffee down in front of Ianto who took a sip and made a so-so face at the medic who laughed.

'So, Teaboy,' Owen began, 'It seems to me that you are recovering remarkably well from your time with the Ta'qoth.' Ianto shrugged, Owen continued, 'I think you have to give yourself some credit here, it's been barely three weeks and you are functioning reasonably well,' he hesitated, 'Jack told me about the nightmares, are they still as bad?'

Ianto shook his head, but then turned and started pointedly out of the window to where Jack was prowling up and down the pavement, coat flapping heroically at his ankles.

'Better when he's there?' guessed Owen.

Ianto nodded emphatically.

'From what I've read about people who have survived torture…' Owen did not want to tell Ianto he had been discussing his case with Dr Cornell or with Jack,'… the people that do best are the ones who managed to hold on to a remnant of themselves, their name, a memory of their family or their job. Is that what you did?' Ianto looked down at his hands and shook his head, then nodded. Owen sighed, 'this is like talking to Lassie' he grumbled, ignoring the indignant look that Ianto shot at him. They had tried using a notepad and pen but writing equated to speaking in Ianto's shattered mind and the resultant panic attack had made both of them wary about trying that again. 'OK not your name or any of those things but something, yes?'

Ianto nodded and turned to stare out of the window again

'Of course' said Owen, 'you held on to Jack didn't you'

A tear trickled down Ianto's cheek and he held up his thumb and forefinger to demonstrate a small amount.

'So you didn't remember very much about him?' A shake of the head. 'His face?' Another negative. 'Not the coat?' This earned him a tiny smile but another head shake. 'His name?'

Ianto nodded and tapped his head.

'You kept his name in your head'

Another emphatic nod

'Even though you could not remember him, you kept his name like a…a sort of talisman?'

Ianto was back staring out of the window; Jack had stopped his pacing and was standing to attention outside the shop and glaring suspiciously at everyone who walked by.

'Christ, Teaboy, you have it bad don't you' Ianto nodded sadly. Owen continued, 'well it saved you sanity, mate. You would not be recovering as well as you have been without the Captain in your head'

Ianto's shoulders sagged and he looked back down at his hands. Owen sighed, he hated this touchy feely shit but the doctor in him could not abide to see pain and not try to alleviate it. He reached across the table and took hold of Ianto's hand; the young man looked up in shock.

'Ianto' Owen began uncomfortably, 'I know we haven't always got on but I am you doctor and I hope that, as your doctor, you trust me' Ianto nodded. 'Good' said Owen, 'because I need you to trust that what I am saying to you is completely and totally true, OK?'

Ianto raise a quizzical eyebrow but nodded and gave Owen a small smile

'Ianto, Jack told me that the Ta'qoth work in teams of eight. They sent seven of them to snatch you and Jack killed two of them with his bare hands trying to stop them. He probably would have killed more if they hadn't shot him in the head. Tosh said he was out of his mind with terror when he called her, panic stricken she said.' Ianto looked sceptical, Owen laughed, 'I know, it doesn't sound like him does it? He got the Doctor to take him to get you; Tosh reckons Jack never intended to leave any of the Ta'qoth alive. He killed them all, Ianto in the most painful way he knew how because they had taken you away from him and hurt you. He loves you, Ianto. More, I think than he has ever loved anyone before and I think that scares the crap out of him. One of you has to be strong, mate and I'm sorry but I think it has to be you. You need to show him that it's OK to be loved by you and to admit he loves you back.'

Owen was startled as Ianto jumped to his feet and turned to go, _bollocks_ thought the medic _I've blown it, _but then Ianto paused. He put his hand on Owen's shoulder and gave it a grateful squeeze before running from the shop. Owen sat and sipped his coffee, watching as Ianto walked up behind Jack and slipped his arms around the Captain's waist. The look on both of the men's faces was enough to show that Owen that his diagnosis had been spot on.

* * *

Jack shot out of his office in a panic, 'Where's Ianto? Tosh! Where is he?'

Owen appeared from the medical bay, 'It's OK Jack, I saw him heading down to the archives about an hour ago, he'll be fine'

Jack took a deep breath and made a visible effort to relax, 'oh fine' he said, 'Think I'll just go..and..er..'

'Check on Ianto' chorused Owen and Tosh in unison

Jack looked a little shamefaced, 'yeah'

Ianto was pottering happily in the archives. He was thinking about his conversation in the coffee shop with Owen a couple of days ago. _Maybe,_ he thought, _Owen had a point_, in the four weeks since his mast...since Jack had rescued him from the Ta'qoth he **had **settled back into his job in the Hub amazingly well. He liked being in the archives; liked being able to impose order onto the chaos that had accrued over the hundred and fifty years that Torchwood has existed under Cardiff bay. It was peaceful down there; Ianto was more often than not alone which meant he did not have to worry about working out what was expected of him. Pulling a large box from one of the shelves he carried it to a handy table and sat down to sort through its contents. It seemed to contain field reports from the previous six month which need to be filed

The first thing he pulled out was a photograph. It was of him and Jack and looked like it had been downloaded from the internal CCTV system but then shoved in the box hurriedly. _I didn't want him to see I had it,_ thought Ianto,sadly. he studied the image, they were both naked, Jack had Ianto pushed up against a wall and was caressing his face, looking at him with such tenderness it almost shone from the paper. Ianto started at the picture for a long time, gently running his fingers over the image of Jack's face. They looked so happy together. Maybe Owen was right about that too. He frowned, he wanted Jack but Jack was being very careful to keep their interactions strictly non-sexual, he hugged Ianto and kissed him tenderly from time to time and Ianto spent every night wrapped in Jack's arms but not once had Jack indicated that he wanted more. It was driving Ianto crazy. Although he knew he was progressing well in terms of overcoming the training that the Ta'qoth, it was still almost impossible for Ianto to believe that it was permissible for him to initiate a sexual encounter.

He looked at the photograph again, smiled sadly and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans_. I'll get him look at me like that again_, he thought to himself _one day_. Sighing heavily, he picked up his thermal mug and removed the lid to drink the coffee he had bought down to the lower levels with him.

'Everything OK, Ianto?'

Ianto gave a convulsive jump as Jack's voice echoed around the small room, spilling hot coffee all over his jeans. Jack was at his side in an instant,

'Oh Gods I'm sorry!' Jack was babbling with fear, 'Get these pants off before you burn'

It was as if all Ianto's fantasies were coming true at once. Hastily Jack knelt and removed Ianto's' trainers and socks, then he reached up and unzipped his jeans. Ianto closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping his breathing level. Jack had peeled the sodden jeans off Ianto's scalded and stinging skin and pulled them down; supporting Ianto as he stepped out of them. Jack was gently touching the reddened areas of Ianto's leg, which was already showing signs of healing, but all Ianto could feel was the warm wash of Jack's breath against his underwear. His cock was so hard that it was almost painful. Without thought Ianto reached his hands down, tangled them into Jack's soft hair and pulled his mouth closer to where he wanted it to be. Jack's hands stilled and he looked up at Ianto,

'Yan?'

Calmly Ianto looked into Jack's blue eyes and tugged his head closer to his very obvious erection. Never breaking eye contact Jack placed his mouth on Ianto's cotton clad cock, letting his hot breath tantalize and tease. Ianto rocked his hips, desperate to communicate what he wanted from Jack. Suddenly Jack's mouth was gone but before Ianto could express his dismay his pants were swiftly lowered and Jack was sucking the very tip of his weeping, throbbing erection. A silent shuddering sigh shook the young man's body and Jack looking up form under his lashes saw Ianto's stormy blue eyes, pupils huge and lust blown, focussed on his face. Jack's swirled his tongue around the head of Ianto's cock and, without warning, swallowed him to the root. Jack's clever tongue was dancing over the hyper-sensitive skin of Ianto's penis and his talented fingers had crept between his legs to fondle and caress his balls and Ianto, soundlessly screaming Jack's name emptied himself down Jack's throat. His vision blurred and darkness took him.

When Ianto came to his senses, he was slumped on the floor in Jack's arms and his face was wet with his own tears. Jack's calloused fingers were gently stroking his cheeks. Ianto looked up, the love that shone from those dancing blue eyes staring back at him, coupled with the endorphin high of his recent powerful orgasm, was enough to melt away most of the Ta'qoth training. Jack smiled, 'Ianto? Back with us?' Ianto smiled, not the tentative half smile of the Ta'qoth survivor that Jack had become accustomed to over the last few weeks, but the full, open, happy smile that Jack remembered from their previous lovemaking. Ianto reached up and cupped Jack's check with his palm, he wanted so much to speak to Jack but his throat closed tight and he could not force the words out. He squeezed his eyes shut with frustration and tears slid from under his lids. Jack pulled him close and softly kissed his tears away.

'I love you, Ianto.' Ianto looked into Jack's face in shock, Jack smiled kindly, 'You are an amazing man. You have recovered from 9 months of Ta'qoth training in just over four weeks, sufficiently to function in this madness and you have recovered enough of your previous self to trust me with your body. You are brave and beautiful and if I try from now until I eventually die I will never deserve you'

Ianto nestled closer to Jack, he was still mute but the litany in his head was _I love you, I love you, i love you. _The grin on Jack's face was enough to tell Ianto that he knew that.

* * *

When Jack reappeared in the Hub Tosh and Owen were hovering nervously outside Jack's office. Jack bestowed his patented Harkness grin on them and raised an enquiring eyebrow, 'something I can do for you guys?'

Owen nudged Tosh with his shoulder. sighing she looked up at Jack, 'The rift predictor reckons the next week is going to be really intense' she said, 'Jack we are already one field agent down with Ianto being unsuitable for field work, we are not going to be able to cope with what's coming unless...'

The smile disappeared from Jack's face, 'No' he said

'Then someone will die' said Owen flatly

'No' repeated Jack

'I've spoken to Stephanie' said Owen, 'She says Ianto's recovery is astonishing and based upon the last psych tests we did he should be more than able to cope '

'I don't know how to make this any clearer...'began Jack furiously

'Jack, we haven't got a choice' interrupted Tosh, 'we have to have Gwen back'


	6. Chapter 6

Gwen's enforced four week sabbatical had done little to improve her frustration or her temper. She stabbed angrily at her breakfast and ranted non-stop at Rhys who was sitting opposite her calmly spreading butter on his toast.

'Jack has only said I can go back because the rift is supposed to be playing up this week. He hasn't apologised to me or taken any action against Ianto fucking Jones'

Rhys frowned, 'C'mon babes' he protested, 'I was out for a drink with Owen and Tosh the other night and they were telling me some of what Ianto has been through; poor bastard. I would have thought you of all people would be ready to cut him some slack. This isn't like you at all. I thought you said that Jack employed you for your humanity and compassion, to keep the others in touch with the real world'

'It's because I'm in touch with the real world I can see him for the whiny clingy looser he really is' Gwen snorted and waved her knife in the air to emphasise her point, 'if you knew how sick I am of Ianto Jones, with his coffee and his bloody suits and his perfect memory and his so-called "special relationship" with...' she stopped abruptly

'With Jack' said Rhys flatly, he knew how Gwen fantasised about Jack, but he had also seen how Jack was with Ianto and he knew Gwen had no chance 'This is not about what Ianto tried to do, this is about you being jealous of the fact that Jack loves him so much'

Gwen snorted, 'Jack doesn't love Ianto, 'she sneered, 'he's nothing more than a convenient and meaningless fuck. Well, if Jack is expecting me to make allowances for the little shit he'd better think again. I'm going back in because the team need me so tip-toeing round Jack's sex toy isn't high on my agenda'

'He travelled across time and space to get him back' pointed out Rhys, 'he killed every single being that got in his way, he pissed off the Doctor and told him he didn't care what he thought about him, that the only opinion he cared about was Ianto's - doesn't sound like a convenient and meaningless fuck to me'

'You don't know anything about it' snapped Gwen.

'I know one thing' retorted Rhys, 'You go in with that attitude and Jack will have you out of there so fast your head will spin'

* * *

Jack and Ianto were also having breakfast. It had become part of their morning routine to walk out to their favourite coffee shop and eat together, just the two of them. It was becoming Jack's favourite part of the day, he reached across the table and took hold of Ianto's hand, gently rubbing his thumb over his knuckles.

'You OK with this, Yan? Gwen coming back?' Ianto rolled his eyes, this was about the ninth time Jack had asked him this since they had woken up, he nodded, smiled and placed a gentle kiss in the palm of Jack's hand. 'I'll keep her well away from you, I promise.' Deep inside Ianto doubted that but he thought it was sweet of Jack to be so worried about him so he gave Jack another warm smile anyway.

Gwen barrelled into the Hub, belligerent and unapologetic, 'I'm back' she announced to the general apathy of her co-workers . Jack appeared in the doorway of his office and gestured her inside

'Gwen'

'Jack'

Jack sighed, clearly Gwen wasn't going to even try to meet him half way on this 'Thanks for agreeing to come in and help us out,' he said, 'Tosh reckons this week is going to be a bit of a nightmare and with Ianto off field duty...'

'Oh he's still getting special treatment is he' sniped Gwen

Jack flushed, 'He's doing brilliantly, thanks for asking, but he is still mute which means Owen won't sign him as fit for the field. He is not your concern, do you understand me? You do not interact with him unless he initiates interaction with you. If you look at him in a funny way I'll have you cleaning out the weevils for a month, if you try to talk to him, I'll suspend you indefinitely and if you upset him in any way I will kill you – got that?'

Gwen thought back to her earlier conversation with Rhys and tried to get a grip on both her emotions and her temper, this wasn't going to work otherwise 'Sorry, Jack' she said, 'I'm a bit nervous about being back. Might be over compensating a bit' she looked up at Jack with an appealing smile, almost daring Jack to resist her.

Jack smiled back at her, 'Yeah, me too' he said, 'I didn't mean to come on so strong, I'm sorry. Can we start over?'

Gwen's smile was conciliatory, 'I'd like that, Jack'. Through the window she could see Ianto approaching, climbing the stairs to Jack's office. She moved closer to Jack, 'Hug?' Jack was never one to turn down physical contact of any kind and Gwen's smiled widened as he pulled her into a tight embrace. She held him close until she heard Ianto open the door and then pulled away from Jack guiltily

'Oh Ianto' she made a point of sounding breathless, 'How are you, OK?'

Ianto gave a polite smile and a small nod. He raised his eyebrows at Jack who grinned, 'Gwen, you'll have to excuse me, Ianto and I have to go over my schedule for the day.'

'Sure, sure' Gwen smiled at both men, making sure that she brightened her smile perceptibly as she looked at Jack, 'I've got four weeks' worth of e-mails to clear.'

* * *

Gwen sat at her desk, thinking hard. She was certain that, with Ianto still so damaged, she could easily move in on Jack's affections. She spent some time watching Ianto as he moved around the Hub. She noticed how Tosh smiled warmly at him as he placed a mug of tea down next to her keyboard and received a soft squeeze of the shoulder, their mutual respect was tangible. Gwen rolled her eyes _gods they are pathetic_ she thought to herself, _Tosh is just enabling him in this affectation_.

Gwen was day dreaming, staring blankly at her screen, thinking of ways to entice Jack into her bed when the soft clink of a coffee mug being placed on her desk bought her back to reality. 'Oh, Ianto,' she pasted a smile on her face, 'how kind.' Just then Jack swept up and pulled Ianto back against his chest, slipping a sneaky kiss onto the young man's neck

'You finished, here?' Jack whispered to him, totally ignoring Gwen, to her chagrin.

Ianto leaned back, into Jack's arms and nodded. Jack nipped the edge of his ear and Ianto's eyes fluttered closed. Jack grinned wolfishly at Gwen over Ianto's shoulder, 'Excuse us' he said, 'Ianto and I have some important things to take care of.' His voice rose higher towards the end of his sentence and Gwen noticed that Ianto was reaching behind him, his hand moving with a definite rhythm. Jack's eyes were glazing slightly as Ianto with, in Gwen's opinion, a smug and self satisfied smile led Jack towards his office.

Later on that day she noted Owen bound out of the medical bay yelling for Ianto, who appeared in the doorway of the archives looking cross. 'C'mon teaboy, I've got a hankering for a cinnamon bun and a latte' Ianto looked at his watch and frowned. Owen seemed to understand, 'I know I said 3.30 but I've finished my reports and we can go now' Ianto merely looked at the medic, then turned on his heel and marched back down to the archives. Owen snorted and turned to see Gwen watching him, 'I swear to God' he said, 'Teaboy is just as sarky he ever was, even though he's mute.' He wandered back down to the medical bay and Gwen shook her head _I would have expected Owen to have more sense._

* * *

Gwen sipped her coffee, _this lot are so pathetic_ she thought to herself,_ honestly they are useless without me, Ianto won't speak, not can't – won't. Tosh and Jack just seem somehow in tune with Ianto and understand what he wants to communicate and Owen seems to be relying on inspired guesswork. I bet not one of them has thought to give the man a pad and pen. _Huffing her amusement at how the team floundered without her guiding hand, she scooped up a pad and pen, made a quick trip to the medical bay and then made her way down to the archives.

Ianto looked up from his work with a small sigh as Gwen appeared round the corner. He knew it wouldn't take her long before she came to sort him out. _If only it was that simple _he thought. She planted herself in front of Ianto's desk. Ianto looked up and smiled politely

'Ianto' she didn't sound very friendly, 'This has to stop. Tell me what happened to you' Ianto's smile disappeared and he pointed to his throat but Gwen laughed. 'I'm not buying that shit' she sneered as she plonked the pad and pen down in front of Ianto, 'write it down, write it all down' Ianto began to shake, he pushed his chair back, trying to get as much distance as possible between him and the desk. 'C'mon' Gwen waved the pad in Ianto's face and he slid from the chair and curled into a foetal position, his face blank and tears streaming down his face. His whole body trembled with the remembered agony of the times the Ta'qoth scarred his inner thigh. The pain had been so bad his heart had stopped, twice. The sharp smell of urine filled the small space as he lost control of his bladder. Gwen glanced over her shoulder at the CCTV, the light was off, no-one was watching, this was her chance. She moved round the desk and knelt down. 'How long do you think Jack will keep you around like this? Jack is an intelligent man, he values debate and conversation and he's not gonna get that from you is he?'

Ianto was shaking his head, he had his arms wrapped tightly around his chest and he was rocking. Gwen smiled; she hadn't expected this to be so easy. 'I'm sure Jack is being kind to you right now' she said gently,' but we both know how easy it is for something new to capture Jack's attention. What are you going to do, Ianto, when Jack finds himself a new fuck toy, Owen will never let you back out in the field, are you prepared to spend the rest of your life making coffee, lurking down here in the archives and trying to ignore new love bites on Jack's neck?' Carefully she pulled out the scalpel that she had collected from the med bay onto the floor in Ianto's eye line. 'Owen hates you' she said softly, 'Tosh is only your friend because she collects failure and you are the biggest failure of all and Jack is only fucking you until something better comes along. I'll leave this with you, OK?'

Ianto unwrapped his arms and slowly his hand crawled across the floor towards the scalpel. Once Gwen saw his long slim fingers curl around the handle, she stood up and walked out of the archive. The smile on her face was beyond triumphant.


	7. Chapter 7

'Jack, come quickly' Owen was panting as he tried to drag the moribund body of Ianto Jones towards the medical bay.

Jack shot out of his office, leapt down the entire length of the stairs and ran to Owen's side. Effortlessly he scooped up the young man's limp body and sped into the medical bay with Owen close behind him.

'What...what..?' gasped Jack

'Don't know,' Owen was inserting an IV and collecting a suture kit as he spoke, 'we were supposed to be going for coffee and a chat...you know' Jack nodded, Ianto and Owen met up outside of the Hub a couple of times a week for Owen to check out Ianto's mental state and feed back to Stephanie, 'he was late, Ianto is never late, so I went down into the archives to find him. He's slashed both wrists, done a proper job too, almost bled out.'

Jack was murmuring Ianto's name and holding a blood soaked pad to his left wrist as Owen prepared the things he needed to stitch his right, 'Why? Why would he do this? He's been doing so well, **we've** been doing so well.' He pulled Ianto's hand to his lips and kissed it as Ianto opened his eyes, Jack forced a smile, 'hey beautiful, welcome back' Ianto turned his head away.

'Yan' Jack sounded hurt

'Fuck Jack, look at this' Owen whispered. Both Jack and Ianto looked at the wrist Owen was holding, the deep cut was closing up almost as they watched. Jack could feel Ianto tense in his arms and begin to hyperventilate. He looked at Jack, his eyes wide with fear. Jack smiled and pressed a comforting kiss to his temple.

'Now might be time to talk about the accelerated healing thing,' suggested Jack to Owen with a grin.

'Yes, well,' stumbled Owen, 'I'm thinking it may be better coming from you.'

'You're the medic'

'You're his...whatever you are'

'His lover, I'm his lover, Owen. Why is it so difficult for you to say?'

'It's not difficult to say, I just don't like to say it'

'Ooh, jealous are you?'

'In your dreams, Captain'

'Well there was this one dream the other night…'

Ianto was looking between the two men as they squabbled. He thought about what Gwen had said about Jack needing interaction, he was clearly enjoying the sarcastic banter. _Gwen's right, I can't give him this,_ thought Ianto, his heart breaking; _maybe he's going to move on to Owen soon._ _I can't stay and watch this_. He slid, gracefully, from the table and began to make his way out of the medical bay and back into the Hub when Jack grabbed hold of his hand,

'Ianto, wait,' he begged, 'You need to know this. The Ta'qoth…they changed you on a cellular level. You heal quickly like me now and...they messed with your DNA too, Owen says, he says...'

Owen interrupted, 'I can't be certain but it looks like you have greatly enhanced life span. I don't know how long but it looks like Jack won't be losing you anytime soon'

Stunned, Ianto looked at Jack who was watching him with a cautious but hopeful smile, 'I'm sorry, Yan' he said softly, 'I wouldn't wish the curse of immortality on anyone but I can't help being happy. You see I get to keep you with me forever. I get to sleep next to you forever. I'm selfish, I know but the thought of centauries of waking up next to you every morning makes me optimistic for my future for the first time since, well, ever.'

Ianto frowned, Jack seemed so sincere but everything he was saying was completely the opposite of the venom that Gwen had spewed that had triggered his suicidal meltdown. He looked into Jack's face for even a hint of mendaciousness but all he saw there was so much love. Almost hesitantly Ianto reached out to stroke Jack's face. Jack smiled softly, 'I love you, Ianto. I always will, I promise'

_He means it_ realised Ianto and, matching Jack's smile, he slid his hand down Jack's arm, took his hand and placed it over his own heart. He then placed his own hand over Jack's heart; against his palm he could feel it pounding through Jack's shirt. Gently he traced an eternity symbol onto Jack's chest, he felt his own heart rate increase as Jack copied the action, his blue eyes fixed on Ianto as he did so.

His eyes stinging, Owen quietly left the medical bay, somehow he felt like an intruder in his own work space.

Jack pulled Ianto closer into his arms and placed a soft and tender kiss on his lips. Ianto slid his arms around Jack, tugging desperately at his shirt, hungry to feel his smooth warmth. In his turn Jack was licking a swathe down Ianto's neck, his breathing ragged and heavy. The mood was broken by the sound of Toshiko clearing her throat in a marked manner from the top of the stairs. The two men pulled apart but Jack made a point of keeping Ianto close within the circle of his arms. They grinned up at Tosh who smiled at them sombrely.

'Jack you are gonna want to see this' she said seriously

'Tosh?'

* * *

Owen and Jack were standing at Tosh's workstation. Ianto, knowing what they were going to see, had taken himself off to the kitchen to make coffee. He couldn't bear to watch Gwen's attack on him again, couldn't bear to see himself be made to be so weak. _She lied to me_ he told himself, _Jack said he loves me and I believe him._

'What have you got for me, Tosh?' asked Jack

Tosh was bring up the CCTV feed from the archive, 'Ok' she said, 'you can yell at me later, Jack but I have been keeping a sneaky eye on Ianto since you got him back. I disabled the activation light on the camera in the archives so it looked as if it was switched off when it was recording. I'm not proud of myself but he's my friend and I care about him and I'm not sorry I did it'

Jack's hand was heavy on her shoulder, 'I could kiss you'.

Tosh threw him a grateful smile, 'Anyway' she continued, 'This is what triggered Ianto.'

Jack and Owen watched in silence as Gwen taunted and tormented Ianto turning him into a shaking mess. Jack muttered in some alien language as he heard Gwen tell Ianto how easily he would be distracted into someone else's bed and Owen swore softly when Gwen accused him of hating Ianto. Both men fell silent again as Gwen placed the scalpel on the floor, close to Ianto's hand, waiting until he had picked up the blade before walking away, without a backward glance.

'Enough' said Jack harshly and Tosh paused the playback, hastily minimising the window, as Ianto came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of coffees and moved to join them. 'Where the fuck is she?'

'That's the weird thing' replied Tosh, punching up the external CCTV image, 'She's outside on the Plas, has been for the last 20 minutes or so. I can only guess that she thought the CCTV was inactive so she doesn't realise that we know what she did.'

'She doesn't know about Teab...Ianto's accelerated healing either' put in Owen

Jack and Tosh made eye contact and Jack raised his eyebrows in quiet surprise at the way Owen had corrected himself whilst Tosh tried to swallow a smile.

'Right' Jack was in full blown Captain mode, ' I'm gonna go get the bitch. Owen draw up the usual drugs, Tosh get interrogation room two prepped, Ianto...'

Ianto pointed to the monitor, tapping the screen impatiently. Tosh looked closely, 'wait...' she said, 'who is she with?'

'Dunno' said Owen, 'but it looks like she's about to bring them into the Hub'

* * *

Gwen had walked away from the archives fighting to keep the jubilant smile off of her face. She strode quickly through the Hub and out onto the Plas. She made her way to a local coffee shop and bought herself a coffee, settling at a table by the window she had decided to wait for about half an hour before going back into the Hub and either making the terrible discovery down in the archives herself or sweeping in with all her compassion to comfort the doubtless bereaved and grieving Jack. Her stomach clenched pleasantly and she laughed aloud

'Having a good day?'

Gwen looked up to see her new next door neighbour, tall, blonde, dazzling green eyes, pretty bloody gorgeous, standing over her.

'Oh. Hi, Denny,' she grinned, 'you have no idea what a good day I'm having!'

As Denny sat down next to her, Gwen happily moved to make space for him. She and Denny had become very friendly whilst she was on suspension from Torchwood. She had helped him organise his flat when he moved in and they had got into the habit of having coffee or lunch together every couple of days. Gwen had even been considering making a move on him if things with Jack dragged on much longer. She was bored with good old dependable Rhys and wanted something exciting. Denny, with his good looks and reckless air promised the spice of risk that would keep her amused for a while before Jack grasped who it was he really should be with. She realised Denny had asked her a question.

'I'm sorry, what?'

'I said, if you have finished your coffee do you fancy a wander round the quay?'

Gwen glanced at her watch, twenty-five minutes had elapsed since she had left Ianto, a little while longer wouldn't do any harm. She smiled at Denny, 'sounds awesome' she purred.

For twenty minutes or so Gwen and Denny lent on the railing of the quay looking out over the water and idly chatting, finally Denny asked, 'Why was today so good then?

Gwen smiled at him broadly, 'I told you about my boss yeah?'

'The gorgeous Captain? Yeah.'

'Well today I got a step closer to snagging him for my own!'

Denny grinned, 'well done you' he paused, 'you work round here don't you?' Gwen nodded, 'I'd love to see your office'

Gwen considered for a second and then said 'why not?' _At least_, she thought to herself _Jack won't be able to do anything to me if I have a friend with me, and it's not like we haven't had people in the base before._ 'C'mon then' she said, grabbing Denny's hand and pulling him over to the tourist office, 'you are gonna love this'

* * *

Down in the Hub Jack and his team were watching with incredulity as Gwen and the strange man entered the tourist information office. By the time the cogwheel door was rolling open, Tosh and Owen were waiting with their guns drawn. Gwen bounced into the Hub and came to a sudden stop.

'Owen? Tosh? What's going on?'

Jack stepped out from the shadows, 'why don't you tell me, Gwen' he asked smoothly

Gwen gestured towards her armed colleagues, 'have we been infiltrated?' she asked inserting worry into her tone, 'oh my god! Where's Ianto?'

'He's right here' said Jack as Ianto emerged from the interior of the Hub and stood next to Jack, sliding an arm around the older man's waist as he did so. Ianto gave the shocked Gwen a little wave

'We know what you tried to get him to do Gwen. What we don't know is why' said Jack quietly

Gwen paled, 'what? How? I don't understand' she stammered, 'you…how are you here? What do you mean, you know?'

Just at that moment, Denny stepped into the Hub behind her. 'Oh SHUT UP' he shouted at Gwen, 'by the tears of the Goddess, do you never stop talking? You go on and on, oh I want Jack, oh I'm so bored with Rhys, oh I wish Ianto Jones would just die. You selfish, stupid woman!' He grasped the sides of the ranting woman's head and, with one smooth motion, snapped her neck.

Dropping Gwen's body onto the floor, Denny smiled at the remaining four Torchwood team members who were staring at him in stunned silence.

'Hello, Jack' he said, 'long time, no see'


	8. Chapter 8

Jack stepped forward, effectively shielding Tosh, Ianto and Owen from Denny.

'Denton Black' he said with distaste, 'what the hell are you doing here?'

Black gave Jack an insincere smile, 'What? A guy can't call in a say 'hi' to an old friend' he queried.

Jack's face turned stony, 'we were never friends' he hissed

Black gave a theatrical stagger, one hand over his heart, 'Oh you wound me, Jack, you really do'

Owen chipped in, 'I take it you two have some kind of history' he asked, making sarcastic air quotes with his fingers around the word 'history'

'Oh, yes' grinned Black at precisely the same time as Jack said, 'hell, no'

'Well, which is it?' demanded Owen

'We worked together at the Time Agency,' said Denton

'You were a time agent' Tosh sounded a little impressed. Owen scowled at her 'What?' Tosh raised an eyebrow at the disgruntled medic, 'Time Agents are cute'

Black smirked at her and pushed back the sleeve of his jacket to show her his wrist strap, 'wanna touch it?' he leered. Tosh took a startled step back and felt Owen place a supportive hand on her back

Jack snorted, 'he wasn't a time agent. He was just a wannabe hanger on. A camp follower, nothing more'

Black flushed angrily, 'kept you entertained, often enough'

_Oh God, not another one_, thought Ianto to himself and he began to edge away from Jack

Jack felt Ianto pull away from his side, 'Yan, no' he said, 'it was a stupid one night stand, meaningless...and a very, very long time ago'

'Yeah, tell yourself that baby' laughed Black, 'and speaking of that night, which as I remember was more like a non-stop four days, seen John recently? Man, that boy can go all night, do you remember, Jack? The three of us had a good time, didn't we?'

'Shut the fuck up' snarled Jack, clasping Ianto firmly by the wrist

Black eyed Ianto with interest, 'this your new one Jack? You always liked the ones with the pretty mouths didn't you?' He ran his eyes insinuatingly over the young man's lean body and licked his lips suggestively, 'he still do that thing with his tongue in your arse?' he asked Ianto, 'I hope he's taught you how to do that'

Jack scowled, 'I'm losing patience, Black.' He snapped, 'why are you here? You kill a member of my team, you infiltrate my work space. You come on to my partner and that **really** pisses me off. So, I'm gonna ask you one last time; what do you want?'

Casually Black stepped over Gwen's body and moved further into the Hub. Jack noticed Tosh and Owen moving out, one to each side, behind him to maintain a good view of the potential threat and smiled. He had a good team

'You have something that belongs to me,' said Black, 'and I've come to collect it'

You are mistaken' said Jack, evenly 'I have nothing that belongs to you'

'Oh but you do' insisted Denton, 'That little fuck toy of yours; he's mine, he was modified to my specifications. Cost me most of a large fortune but I expect he'll be worth it, the Ta'qoth sent me regular reports throughout his training. They said he was most innovative and highly amendable to their instruction. Guess I have you to thank for that Jack. I paid highly for those modifications, especially the accelerated healing and the longevity but then I have been known to... ' here he paused, as if searching for the appropriate phrase, '...terminally damage my fuck toys from time to time. I wanted someone I could play with properly.' He looked at Ianto and his expression hardened, 'Is this the way you stand before your primary dominant?'

Ianto was trembling; he cast an agonised look at Jack as against his will he sunk to his knees and lowered his head.

'No' cried Jack, struggling to raise Ianto to his feet, Ianto was clinging to him desperately.

Tosh and Owen raised their guns again. Black sighed, 'gods this little mob of yours are so predictable aren't they.' Casually he pressed a few buttons on his wrist strap, enclosing them both in a stasis field which rendered them immobile and unable to help. 'That's better' said Black with satisfaction.

Jack had Ianto back on his feet and was holding the silently shaking man tightly against his chest. 'I don't understand' said Jack, 'How did Gwen fit into all this?'

Black grinned, madly, 'You were always my role model, Jack. I really wanted to be just like you. When you disappeared from the Agency and no-one could tell me why or where you were, I didn't know what to do. John Hart tried the hardest to find you but then he got distracted in the Vegas Galaxy by an...associate of mine. I stole his research and most of his money; I'd already made a huge fortune of my own. So I greased a few palms and traced you to this mud ball. I've been here for five years now, watching you. I've fucked most of the people you have, you know. We've even been in the same clubs on more than one occasion; you picked me up once, we fucked in an alleyway. I watched you with them all, Jack but I could see that this one,' once again he stripped Ianto with a scorching glance. 'He was more important than all of the others put together. I thought he must be something really special so I contacted the Ta'qoth and gave them the commission. I thought if I couldn't have you, he would be a good substitute'

'You are the one responsible for what happened to Ianto?' ground out Jack, dangerously.

'Yeah and I was really annoyed when you stole him back. If you hadn't killed the Ta'qoth training octet then I would have. I hope it was painful'

'Punctured the ven'kaat sac' said Jack gruffly

Black gave another insane little titter, 'ooh goody, goody' he clapped his hands together, then seemed pull himself together slightly. He cleared his throat and continued, 'anyway, you had what was mine and I needed to get it back. To do that I needed a way in and this...' he contemptuously kicked Gwen's corpse, 'was the obvious way. She was so obsessed with you, Jack.' He laughed bitterly, 'I could relate to that. So I engineered a vacant flat in her building and moved in, I became her friend, her confidante, 'he shuddered, ' Christus, she was an unpleasant woman but I knew sooner or later she would want to show this place off to me as some sort of bizarre seduction technique and then I could take my property and leave. The fun I'd get from him would be all the sweeter for knowing that you would be destroyed by his loss. I hadn't actually planned to kill her but honestly she never knew when to shut up.'

For Ianto, it was like trying to listen to a conversation through a thick glass wall. He realised that this man, Denton Black, was the one who had paid the Ta'qoth to snatch him and torture him into degradation and submission. He understood that this man was obsessed with Jack, had stalked him successfully for five years but had used Gwen to gain entry to the Hub. However, the intellectual processing of this information was frustrated by his one overriding fear; that Jack would hand him over to protect the remaining members of the team. He felt his heart rate increase and he felt suddenly faint, leaning back against Jack's broad chest, he tried to control his panic. Jack wrapped his arms around him, holding him close and Ianto realised that Jack was tracing the eternity sign on the inside of his wrist. _He's trying to tell me something,_ thought Ianto, _trying to remind me what he told me in the medical bay, telling me he loves me. _Carefully, Ianto slipped his index finger under the cuff of Jack's shirt and traced the same symbol over the pounding pulse point. He felt Jack release a long slow breath against his neck as if in relief for a message given and understood. An infinitesimal squeeze and Jack was talking to Black once more.

'You are going to take Ianto away from me aren't you' the certainty and despair in Jack's voice had the weight of centauries in it.

'I'm recovering my property, yes'

'I've had him a long time' said Jack, 'Can I at least kiss him goodbye?'

Black laughed, 'Oh this is so touching. Which would be worse do you think? Just taking him right now and not letting you say farewell or allowing you one last goodbye kiss to remind you exactly what it is you are losing?'

'Please' Jack was begging now

'Oh I think one tender farewell kiss will torment you the longest' Black gave Jack a help-yourself-gesture and watched with an amused smile on his face.

Jack turned Ianto and held him close. He nuzzled against his neck and buried his nose in the curls that skimmed Ianto's collar 'trust me' he breathed, so quietly Ianto almost missed it. He wasn't sure if it was a question or a command but he gave the tiniest of nods, planting a soft kiss on Jack's neck to disguise it. In his turn, Jack kissed his way along Ianto's jaw line, pausing to suck gently on his Adam's apple. Ianto's breathing grew louder and ragged and he tilted his head back to allow Jack better access. He was vaguely aware of Jack's hand moving with a definite and specific purpose between their two bodies. 'Close your eyes, Cariad' whispered Jack, as he speedily and smoothly twisted them both, pulled his Webley and shot Denton Black right between the eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Black's body hit the floor, Jack sprang forward and snatching his wrist strap to annul the stasis field that was restraining Tosh and Owen. Tosh immediately ran to cradle Gwen's dead body, sobbing quietly as she did so. Owen examined the intruder's body and whistled admiringly, 'Nice shot, Captain'

Gently Jack moved Ianto to one side and encouraged him to sit down on the sofa. Then he walked over to where Own was kneeling, looked at the ruin that was Denton Black and calmly emptied the rest of the Webley's chamber into the corpse. 'Not taking any chances' he explained to the room in general, before bending down and heaving the cadaver over his shoulder, 'Owen, I'm gonna need your help'. Wordlessly, a shocked Owen followed Jack out of the hub and down into the depths of the mortuary.

When the two men returned from securely storing the body, Tosh had straightened Gwen's corpse out and covered it with a sheet from the medical bay. Carefully, Owen and Jack lifted their fallen colleague onto a mortuary trolley and moved her into the autopsy bay. Tosh stood watching, wiping her eyes,

'Someone is going have to tell Rhys' she said sadly

Jack sighed heavily, 'That would be me, I guess' he said, 'Gods I hate this'

'It's OK Jack,' said Owen, 'Tosh and I will do it. Rhys is our friend; it will be easier coming from us'

Tosh nodded, 'yes, we'll look after Rhys I think you need some time with Ianto' she gestured with her head to where Ianto was sitting hunched up on the sofa, hugging his knees to his chest and staring bleakly into space.

'Go on, Captain' Owen pushed Jack gently towards the traumatized young man.

* * *

'Ianto? Yan?' Slowly Ianto turned to look at Jack, who was staring anxiously into his face 'You Ok, sweetheart'

_I am_ Ianto realised _I really am, I knew that Jack would not let that man take me. I knew he would not let me be hurt because he loves me. He makes me strong and that makes me OK. _He looked up at Jack and smiled.

'You really are OK?' Ianto nodded emphatically but Jack still looked troubled, 'are...are we OK?' he asked hesitantly.

Ianto nodded again

Jack held out his arms, 'any chance of a hug then?' he grinned.

Ianto rolled his eyes and uncurled his body, moving happily and confidently into Jack's embrace, revelling in Jack's delighted chuckle.

* * *

**Two months later**

It had been a long and difficult two months but things at Torchwood seemed finally to be settling down. Rhys had been devastated by Gwen's death and had turned up anguished and drunk at the Hub a couple of days of days after Tosh and Owen had told him the news and broken Jack's nose. Tosh and Owen had spent long hours with him, helping him work thorough his anger and grief and, ironically, growing closer as a result. Tosh had hacked into Denton Black's financial holdings and moved a quite eye watering amount of money into Rhys' bank account, which allowed him to set up a charitable trust in Gwen's name to support young police officers who wanted to attend university to enhance their career prospects. Ianto had rolled his eyes at that one.

Andy Davidson, from Cardiff's finest had been recruited to fill Gwen's police liaison post and although still a little nervous around Jack, having never properly recovered from Jack absent-mindedly patting him on the bottom on his first day, he was settling in quite well. He often wandered down to the archives to chat with Ianto, not seeming to mind that the conversation was one sided. Jack was seriously considering putting him out in the field soon.

It was a quiet Wednesday. Tosh was down on the firing range giving Andy some firearm training and Ianto was off doing Ianto stuff when Jack wandered down into the medical bay to talk to Owen.

'How is Ianto doing?' asked Jack hopping up onto Owens autopsy table and swinging his legs

'You should know better than me' replied Owen

Jack smiled happily, 'He's fantastic but I was thinking more in terms of what Stephanie thinks'

Owen was still talking to his psychiatrist friend once a week, keeping her up to data with Ianto's progress. 'She's ready to withdraw' said Owen, 'she thinks he's as good as he is gonna get. She says she's happy to do the occasional consult if we need her to but on the whole she thinks he has done really well'

Jack frowned, 'even though he is still mute? Even though he still can't use a pen or a keyboard? Even though he still can't communicate at all?'

Unnoticed by either of them, Ianto, who had been on his way down to the two men to get a list of afternoon snacks before doing a coffee run, was standing frozen on the threshold of the medical bay. Moving with his customary stealth, he backed away but hovered within earshot, keen to know what Jack and Owen were saying about him.

'Is he still completely silent?' Owen was asking

'Yeah,' replied Jack, 'not a sigh, not a moan, nothing.'

'Not even when you're...you know'

'Yeah, well about that...' Jack sounded a little uncomfortable. Ianto shuffled closer to the entrance straining to hear.

Owen laughed in a disbelieving fashion, 'You're not telling me that you're...not?'

Jack sighed, 'Some, hand jobs, blow jobs, just nothing...penetrative'

'Christ, Jack it's been three months!'

'I know' Jack huffed, 'I want to, gods do I want to and sometimes when he looks at me I think he does too but...it's got to come from him, Owen. He has to be in charge. I have to know it's because he wants to, not because he thinks it's what he has to do'

Owen looked at Jack, 'You really care for him don't you'

'More, apparently, than I can get him to believe' replied Jack, sadly.

* * *

Later that evening Jack opened the door to their flat, they had long ago given up the pretense that they weren't living together; he had barely hung up his coat before Ianto had him pressed against the wall in an ardent and demanding kiss. It was only the lack of oxygen that broke them apart,

'Wow' panted Jack, 'that was amazing, what bought that on?'

Ianto gave him a severe look and placed two of his fingers over Jack's mouth. He grabbed hold of Jack's hand and pulled him unresisting to the bedroom.

'Ooh, are we going to play?' asked Jack excitedly.

Ianto stopped and gave Jack another stern look and placed his hand over Jack's mouth once more. Jack felt his heart begin to pound as he began to realize what Ianto had planned. Once they were in the bedroom, Ianto started to unfasten the buttons of Jack's shirt. Eagerly, Jack reached out to reciprocate but Ianto slapped his hands away. Ianto stripped Jack with an efficiency that Jack could not help but be a little proud of and placing his hands on Jack's shoulders gently forced him down to his knees.

Jack could not control the broad smile that was crawling across his face, even as he submissively bowed his head and clasped his hands behind his back. The soft slither of clothing told him that Ianto was stripping but even as Jack started to look up, Ianto moved behind him and blindfolded him with his silk tie. Jack's cock was so hard he thought the skin might split. Ianto tenderly manoeuvred Jack onto the bed; he straddled Jack, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his gasping mouth and remove his blindfold. Even before Jack could respond, Ianto had captured his wrists and fastened them to the head of the bed with his ever versatile tie. Satisfied, Ianto leaned back on his heels allowing Jack to recover since the brief contact of his erection on his chest had been nearly enough to make Jack come.

Eyes fixed on Jack's face Ianto slowly stroked his erection, making Jack's hips jerk upwards desperate for warm friction of his hand. With his other hand he reached round behind himself and carefully slid his fingers inside himself. Jack's eyes widened and darkened with lust as he watched his young lover coat his fingers with the lubricant he had been modified to produce and a he let out a definite whimper as Ianto the used his lubed fingers to probe and prepare the restrained man below him.

Jack's breathing hitched s he felt the blunt head of Ianto's penis pressing against his pulsing entrance. Ianto leant forward and softly caressed Jack's face and then, with no other warning pushed forcefully into Jack's body. Jack knew he wouldn't last long, and the look on Ianto's face suggested that he wouldn't be far behind. Jack arched his body to allow Ianto to thrust deeper into him and gasped as he felt Ianto's come in strong pulsing wave inside him, harder and hotter than Jack remembered, _modified_ his melting brain supplied as his own ejaculate spattered between them.

'Gods, Yan' panted Jack, shuddering as Ianto grasped his wilting cock and skilfully manipulated him back to full hardness, straddled him and impaled himself on Jack's now straining cock. Jack screamed something filthy in a language that he had forgotten he spoke. Ianto leant forward and captured his mouth in a searing and dominating kiss and Jack was only marginally aware that he was being untied.

As soon as his hands were free, Jack wrapped them around Ianto and twisted them so that the younger man was beneath him. Jack leant forward and caught one of Ianto's nipples between his teeth causing him to jerk beneath him. 'My turn, now' growled Jack as he set up a punishing pace as he pounded into Ianto, making sure to nail his prostate with every strong thrust. Ianto's eyes rolled back into his head and he came strongly between their sweating bodies. The look of complete ecstasy on Ianto's face and the feeling of his muscles clenching tightly around him, milking his throbbing cock pushed Jack into an intense orgasm that whited out his vision as he screamed Ianto's name

When he came back to himself he was sprawled across Ianto's chest. The young man was lazily combing his fingers through Jacks hair. Jack softly blew across Ianto's sweaty chest and watched his nipples perk up to attention and felt him shudder against him Jack grinned as he remember Owen explaining that the Ta'qoth had increased the nerve supply to all erogenous zones, the blood supply to Ianto's penis and increased his stamina. Experimentally, Jack extended his tongue and licked the nipple nearest to him, chuckling as he felt Ianto's cock begin to press insistently into his thigh. Rolling his eyes, Ianto reached down and enclosed both their penises in his hot, clever hands; Jack kissed him intently, sucking Ianto's tongue into his mouth, scrapping it with his teeth. Together they slowly bought each other to climax, hands moving faster and breathing became more heated and they came together, Jack's face buried into the curve of Ianto's neck, Ianto biting into Jacks' heaving shoulder. Eventually they fell towards sleep tangled up together, sweat and semen drying between them, Ianto mouthing kisses onto Jack's shoulder. As sleep took them Jack mumbled quietly 'I wish you could tell me how you feel, cariad'

* * *

Jack had no idea how long he slept, it was Ianto shifting in his sleep that jolted him awake. Ianto was laying half on top of him, his hand protectively cupping Jack's balls and a small pool of drool forming in the hollow of Jack's collar bone. Smiling happily Jack slowly stretched purring silently as he felt a welcome and familiar burning ache at the base of his back. Their coupling had been perfect, jack mused, a frantic and almost brutal reconnection and reclamation of what each possessed in the other was exactly what they both needed and what Jack had longed for. Jack knew that there would be time and opportunity for more gentle love making but Ianto had made it perfectly clear to his lover that they were back together. Jack tenderly ran his fingers over Ianto's soft skin in silent gratitude.

Much as Jack wanted to stay pinioned under Ianto forever, he had woken up with a raging thirst. Moving slowly and circumspectly he slid out from under the sleeping man, smiling as Ianto immediately sprawled out into the space he had vacated, and padded quietly to the kitchen. As he straightened up from foraging in the fridge, a chilled bottle of water in his hand, Jack's attention was caught by a sheet of A4 paper, placed precisely in the centre of the kitchen table. Groping behind him, Jack blindly placed the bottle on the counter top behind him and, with trembling hands picked the paper up. Both sides were covered with Ianto's neat hand writing, the same single sentence over and over again

_I love you, Jack._

Jack carefully placed the sheet of paper back in the middle of the table, smoothing it out as if it was the most precious document he had ever seen. He stood remembering the terror and suicidal panic that Gwen had initiated in Ianto simply by trying to force him to write something down. He thought about the courage and discipline and sheer need it must have taken for Ianto to force himself to break his Ta'qoth training, simply to communicate to Jack the single most important thing in the universe that Ianto wanted him to know.

It was too much and Jack Harkness, strong brave Jack who had not allowed himself to once break down throughout the entire episode of Ianto's kidnap, enslavement and gradual recovery stood naked and shivering in Ianto's small kitchen with tears pouring down his face, both hands over his mouth to stifle his heart wrenching sobs.

Then...a miracle. Two pale arms wrapped around his waist, long slim fingers tracing an eternity symbol on his belly, a tall, lean, warm body pressed against his back. A soft Welsh voice, a little rusty from misuse but still beautiful nonetheless, whispered in his ear, breath tickling his neck, 'please don't cry, Jack. I never want to make you cry. I love you'

And Jack knew, with complete and utter certainty that everything was going to be alright.

_ ~~~~ Fin ~~~~_


End file.
